Is that Paleo? Probably not...

Why is That Not Paleo?

You've tried it, and it was ok. But it didn't make you feel great, and you didn't lose loads of weight.

How come?

You've read lots of stories of people being cured of life long illnesses, losing massive amounts of weight and feeling great. But not you.

So what are you doing wrong?

Truthfully ... it's not you.

There are limitations with the diet.

Personally, I don't understand the logic behind the Paleo 'good food' and 'bad food' lists. But I'll get into that more in a minute.

As with any fad diet, it's a one size fits all solution. And humans just aren't wired that way.

We are all individual and our nutrition, our diet, should reflect that.

I've said it before, find out what works for you, and don't jump on the bandwagon of what has worked for other people. They are not you.

You may have problems digesting cabbage, or onion, or coconut. All allowed on the paleo diet.

Whereas you may thrive on grains, legumes and even dairy. All absolutely no go, don't even think about it food list.

The diet doesn't take into account individuals. How they react to certain foods.

Is that Paleo? 'Good food and 'Bad food'

Good Foods

Grass-fed meats.

Fish/seafood.

Fresh fruits.

Fresh vegetables.

Eggs.

Nuts and Seeds.

Healthy oils

Bad Foods

Cereal grains

Legumes (including peanuts)

Dairy

Refined sugar

Potatoes

Refined vegetable oils

Candy/junk/processed

I have a general beef with any diet that prescribes a list of good food and bad food for the general population.

But I get slightly more annoyed with the Paleo diet's list.

Why?

Because they are arbitrary. The scientific/evolutionary argument for them is, at best flawed.

It is predicated on the assumption that our ancestors ate a staple diet. When it truth they would eat anything that kept them alive.

If coconuts were in abundance, sure they'd eat them. If there was a profusion of fish, they'd gobble it down.

And if chicken McNuggets were the only available food, you can bet your bottom dollar that's what they'd be eating.

They didn't so much care about healthy, in fact we know very little about the health of our ancestors, it was all about staying alive and reproducing.

One thing about the human body, it's adept at adapting.

Being able to adapt to any diet is what has got us to where we are today. The most prolific, high-order vertebrate on the planet.

So why cut things out of your diet if they work for you? Losing weight, and keeping it off, is hard enough. Why make it harder?

Is that Paleo ... It's setting you up to fail?

My other beef with this diet is that it sets you up for a fail almost straight away.

Eat what your ancestors ate.

Well you can't.

Everything that is available to us today is a bastardisation of what was around in the Palaeolithic era. They have all been cultivated, during the same agricultural revolution that gave us grain.

Almonds. Allowed in abundance on the Paleo diet but if our ancestors had eaten them, well we wouldn't be around today.

Because they contained dangerous levels of cyanide. That has been cultivated out of them, yes about 10,000 years ago, to make them safe.

Is that Paleo? - Probably not

Sweet potatoes. They have only graced our tables for the past 500 years. Long after people had started eating grain.

Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale are all modern cultivars.

There is also evidence to suggest that humans processed plant food and possibly even prepared flour as early as 30,000 years ago. Long before the agricultural revolution.

So again I would ask why are the 'bad foods' bad?

The only reason you should eliminate a food, or food group, is if it doesn't work for you, personally. Or if it's severely lacking in nutrition. But even then, I see no problem with having something nutritionally devoid, every now and again.

It's all about balance.

Balance and what works for you.

Figure those two out and you'll not only have amazing weight loss results, but you'll feel pretty awesome too.

Probably much better than our paleo ancestors. But then I'm, just guessing with that.

What works for me is more important than Is that Paleo?

Ok so that's my rant over.

I've probably pissed off a sufficient number of people by now.

If you're still reading and you want help finding out what works for you, to stop asking 'Is that Paleo?' then get in touch.

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